Monday, June 06, 2016

WATCH: The Story of Ahmed Mohamed Told Via Trap Music and Magical Realism

Muslim-American high school student Ahmed Mohamed captivated the nation last year when he was arrested for bringing a homemade clock—which officials suspected was a bomb—to school. Multimedia artist and activist Jamel "Jam No Peanut" Mims channeled inspiration from Mohamed's case for the trap rap track, "Ahmed Mohamed."

"I like electronics, for my science project, made me an alarm clock, suitcase from the closet/they got me in my NASA tee, the audacity, wouldn't go down if I was a different shade or opacity," Jam No Peanut raps on the song.

The video for "Ahmed Mohamed," which you can see above, features a Mohamed lookalike as he walks school halls with support from breakdancing students. Jam No Peanut described the music video in a statement emailed to Colorlines:

The video, shot by Alex Seel (Al Jazeera, Borderlands) is a re-telling of Ahmed Mohamed's arrest—with elements of magical realism that blur the lines between documentary footage, satire and music video.

The music video forms one part of a bigger multimedia project (also titled "Ahmed Mohamed") that includes "augmented reality features" and "an interactive 'Fight The Power' Final Exam about police terror." The MC debuted the project in New York City last Wednesday (May 25).

The Parallel Government
Of The Entire World

All of us, every single man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth were born with the same unalienable rights; to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And, if the governments of the world can't get that through their thick skulls, then, regime change will be necessary.

"An Islamic regime must be serious in every field," explained Ayatollah Khomeini. "There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humour in Islam. There is no fun in Islam."

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"I want to be very, very clear, however: I understand and agree with the analysis of the problem. There is an imminent threat. It manifested itself on 9/11. It's real and grave. It is as serious a threat as Stalinism and National Socialism were. Let's not pretend it isn't."~~~~~Bono~~~~~